Review #995 - Dallas Buyers Club (2013)
THE SCOOP
Director: Jean-Marc Vallee
Cast: Matthew McConaughey, Jennifer Garner, Jared Leto
Plot: In 1985 Dallas, electrician and hustler Ron Woodroof works around the system to help AIDS patients get the medication they need after he is himself diagnosed with the disease.
Genre: Biography / Drama
Awards: Won 3 Oscars - Best Leading Actor, Best Supporting Actor, Best Makeup & Hairstyling. Nom. for 3 Oscars - Best Picture, Best Original Screenplay, Best Makeup & Hairstyling.
Runtime: 117min
Rating: R21 (cut!) for pervasive language, some strong sexual content, nudity and drug use.
IN RETROSPECT (Spoilers: NO)
“Welcome to the Dallas Buyers
Club!”
It
is the 1980s. Aids is killing
people. But Ron Woodroof, diagnosed with
HIV and given only thirty days to live, is determined to survive. He lived longer than expected, and did some
remarkable things along the way. This is
his story. This is also Matthew
McConaughey's show. What a performance –
stunning and stirring at the same time.
It
might just be his greatest performance in a career that has not been
particularly noteworthy until his renaissance with films like The Lincoln Lawyer (2011), Killer Joe (2011), Magic Mike (2012), Mud
(2012), and a nice 'cameo' in The Wolf of Wall Street (2013).
Also starring Jennifer Gardner as a doctor in
a local hospital, and Jared Leto in drag, Dallas
Buyers Club is deservedly a Best Picture nominee, and is a very solid drama
in what has been a strong year for American cinema.
McConaughey
and Leto might just get their first Oscars from only their first
nominations. While Leto is favourite to
score a win, McConaughey's closest competitors are Leonardo DiCaprio and
Chiwetel Ejiofor, both of whom gave Oscar-worthy performances in The Wolf of Wall Street and 12 Years a Slave (2013) respectively.
Dallas Buyers Club
calls to attention the devastating impact of Aids. It is at once a story of perseverance, and a
tale of one man's battle with the Food & Drug Administration (FDA). Lives were prolonged because of the no-bull
efforts of Woodroof, who finally finds meaning in life after one that has been
ruined by booze, drugs and casual sex.
Woodroof seeks redemption through action; he literally redeems the chance to live
again.
I
wouldn’t consider Dallas Buyers Club
an outwardly inspirational movie. It
feels too downtrodden to be so. It
inspires from within instead. You won’t
leave the theater feeling that the world is right again, but rather you resonate
quietly with the human impact of the film.
Director
Jean-Marc Vallee, a quite solid filmmaker of C.R.A.Z.Y (2005) and The
Young Victoria (2009), uses editing (he’s a co-editor) well, telling
Woodroof’s story economically (and sometimes suspensefully) by leveraging on
the ‘thirty days’ live-or-die ultimatum.
The
decision to use Shuggie Otis’ “Sweet Thang” is a masterstroke as the song
captures the mood of the picture – everything from the odd friendship between McConaughey’s
and Leto’s characters to the turbulent Aids-inflicted 1980s as seen through the
eyes of a foul-mouthed Texan rodeo cowboy.
Dallas Buyers Club
is likely to find its way into my annual list Top 10 films of 2013.
Verdict: A solid and important drama about the
personal fight against Aids led by a stunning turn by Matthew McConaughey.
GRADE: A-
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